Mission & Principles

Mission

The Neighborhood Anarchist Collective (NAC) strives to grow the anarchist movement through strategic direct action and by providing a welcoming environment for education and participation. We organize locally to help build a society where neighbors support each other to meet basic needs, individuals are free to follow their passions, and empowered communities collectively shape the future.

Principles

Social Anarchism – We primarily work from a vision of social Anarchism; a vision of shared resources and community support built around the empowerment of the individual and the decentralization of power.

Individual Sovereignty – You are the exclusive controller of your body, energy, and life. You contribute your energy on your own terms.

Mutual Aid – Acting together for shared benefit through the voluntary exchange of resources and services.

Distributed Power – No one has more power than anyone else. People work together on equal footing.

Direct action – Creating change or highlighting issues in a community without relying on government or other indirect methods to accomplish goals.

Love-Focused – We commit to a radical love for our communities, our families, ourselves, and the earth.

Transformative Solidarity – We are committed to act in solidarity for the collective liberation of all; in particular, with folks who are being politically targeted: people of color, women, muslims, trans people, LGBTQ, people with disabilities, migrants, victims of the criminal ‘justice’ system, and all suffering under oppressive systems.

Strategic Nonviolence and Self Determination – As a group, we will mobilize using strategic nonviolence while respecting the right of communities to protect themselves.

Concrete Projects – We prioritize projects that: 1) Serve and educate the community; 2) Give people a sense of their own power; and, 3) Shift power from government and corporations to people and communities.

Collaboration – As social issues are bigger than any singular organization, we will work with other organizations and communities (anarchist or not) when we share a common cause to create social change. We collaborate while staying focused on our core values, methods, and mission.

Empower Individuals – By giving people the creative space to experience and experiment with their personal power, as well as their ability to impact their community, we will fan the flame(s) of self-liberation inside the hearts of our community.

Build for the Long Term – Projects we take on will lay the foundation for a stronger organization and larger projects in the future, whether they are entirely successful or not.

Inclusivity – We welcome anyone interested in the mission and principles of this group.

Responsive – We value input from the community and want to respond directly to the needs and concerns of those around us. We accept responsibility for our actions as individuals and as a group.

Autonomy – Individual’s ideas and energies are important and encouraged. We are structured to limit any coercion or control that could interfere with a person’s rights of self direction and empowerment.

Joyous – In a world full of drudgery and fear, we bring playfulness and joy to our projects.

Internal

We are ambassadors of Anarchism – For many people we will be their first exposure to anarchist ideas. We are gentle, respectful, educational, and inviting.

Assume best intentions – We are all working towards the same goals; as such, we work to view the variety of individual expressions and actions through the lens of curiosity and comradery.

Constructive feedback is welcome – We’re all learning and growing. We do this through consistent individual and group reflection, discussion, and feedback. We are open to both give and receive.

Wholeness – We bring our whole selves to this group and respect the often emotional nature of social justice work and collective process. We strive to set aside our egos and the masks we often put on in public places in order to respect and appreciate everyone for who they are and the unique things they bring to our community.

Collective decision making – We look for opportunities to include everyone’s input to encourage broader investment in the process and group.

Teams – We appreciate opportunities to work in small groups because they provide accountability, excitement, a diversity of ideas, and the opportunity to experiment with non-hierarchical/non-authoritarian/creative methods of organizing.

Visionary – We believe a better world is possible. We will not allow appeasements or concessions to distract our focus from the larger vision of an awesome anarchist future.

Trainings and personal growth – We consistently seek opportunities to train and educate ourselves to improve in our organizing, our politics, and ourselves.

Structured for growth – We use flexible structures that plan for growth and create space for new people to engage quickly and easily.

Flexibility – Context is important. We don’t use our principles, rules, or precedents to oppress people.

Centering Anarchism – We purposefully talk about anarchism and anarchist principles with the public to show what anarchy truly is.

Fight Organizational Inertia – Don’t be afraid to try something new! Continue to analyze the organization, its processes, these principles, and creatively work to improve the organization to be what it can be.

Question Everything!

Other important structure documents

About NAC

The Neighborhood Anarchist Collective (NAC) strives to grow the anarchist movement through strategic direct action and by providing a welcoming environment for education and participation. We organize locally to help build a society where neighbors support each other to meet basic needs, individuals are free to follow their passions, and empowered communities collectively shape the future.